IMD Award registration in progress

The IMD competition is designed for early-stage companies that have a solid chance of market success, have a team that is curious and willing to open themselves up to a small group of management students and to enter into both strategic and business model discussions. The award provides a good learning opportunity for participants whose timing fits with the IMD programs.

In collaboration with CTI/KTI, VentureKick and investiere, the IMD team is searching for up to 25 Swiss start-ups to benefit from the free-of-charge support from their MBA and EMBA students in 2016.

EMBA project scope
Up to 15 start-ups will work with the two Executive MBA classes which consists of a group of experienced international executives (average age 40 years old) - who, in small teams, will analyse and challenge their business plans, teams and company strategies and pitch their start-ups to venture capitalists in Silicon Valley in September. With the exception of a few meetings with the EMBA class, the majority of the work will be done virtually. One or two EMBA teams will be assigned to each company.

One member of each start-up is required to join the Executive MBA class for the Discovery Expedition to Silicon Valley, U.S.A. for six days in September. The start-up member will participate in the activities of the Discovery Expedition at no charge however must cover his/her own travel and lodging expenses. In Silicon Valley, the start-ups will be pitched to a small group of Silicon Valley venture capitalists and/or angel investors by the IMD EMBA participants who will receive feedback on the presentation content and quality. The start-up entrepreneurs will be invited to talk with the potential investors following the pitches.

MBA project scope
The class of 90 MBA participants is a group of high caliber, experienced (average age 31 years old) international students. Up to 15 start-ups receive the dedicated support of a team of 5 to 7 MBA participants over 3 months between January and March, under the supervision of an IMD Faculty member. The team will focus exclusively on business-related issues of the new venture, e.g. customer value proposition, supply-chain management, market entry strategies, etc. helping to develop critical components of its business plan to a point where they can potentially be presented to new funding sources.

As the MBA projects seek to develop elements of the start-ups business plan, it is critical that the participants are involved in the important strategic/business model discussions that will determine the future success of the business.

Who can apply?
Independent local ventures with an established team and resources can apply for the competition. Also, it must be accompanied with a demonstrated willingness to work with the participants and communicate openly with them. The venture must have at least one person working on it fulltime from January through May (MBA) or June through October (EMBA).

(RAN)